Heart Of Iron
by ktoll9
Summary: Things changed after Ren had left. What was he coming back to? Rated for Language and Topics. I would say that this is an AU but, aren't most fanfics technically AU if not released by the original creator? Hope you enjoy. 8)
1. Chapter 1

_**Heart Of Iron**_

* * *

Three years... It had been three years since she encouraged him to make his way in Hollywood and there had not been a single word from her or, about her from anyone other than, "She's doing well." Today would be his first full day back in Japan at LME and he could hardly wait to catch a glimpse of the woman that he hadn't been able to get off his mind. Not a single day went by that his heart and mind didn't torture him with thoughts of her.

"Kuon! No, take that out of your mouth you silly thing. Haaa, what is Mommy going to do with you?" He heard a familiar female voice chirp happily. He turned toward the angel's voice to find her bending over a beautiful, blond-haired, green-eyed, giggling two and a half year old boy holding his arms up and begging for his mother's attentions.

"Kyoko?" Ren's voice was hoarse and broken from the scene he just witnessed.

The petite 21 year old woman's back straightened and her arms clenched the toddler tightly to her as she turned. The sparkle she had moments ago left her eyes and her visage darkened. She took in a deep breath, donned her public persona and nodded to him curtly. "Tsuruga-san...Welcome back." She turned and left the hall with the elegance of a Queen.

* * *

"What the hell happened while I was gone?!" He demanded from Lory.

Lory looked at him pensively. "Hm? I'm not sure what you're asking. Could you be more specific? A great number of things have happened."  
"I'm talking about Kyoko, damn-it!" He spat out.

"Hmm, I suppose if you had bothered to check for yourself or, even come back for a visit... You would probably know. What goes on in her personal life is no longer my business." Lory told him.

"What do you mean? You're always involved!" He growled.

Lory sighed and shook his head. "Not in this case. I regret ever pushing her towards a man that obviously had no intention of taking care of her. I screwed this up once and I've promised to stay out of her affairs since."

"What do you mean?" He asked with worry.

"Kuon... You never told her did you? You never told her who you were..." Lory said remorsefully.

"I..." He stammered.

"Kuon, it tore her up when you left and when her son was born... Well, let's just say she knows now. Leave her alone. She's been through enough. He's the only thing she has and she's sacrificed a lot for him." Lory explained. "You left her alone without a word."

"What do you mean?" He asked with worry.

Lory sighed. "You didn't hear this from me... Kuon-chan was very hard on her. He's all she's got and all she'll ever have. Because of this she believes that she is no longer worthy of a man's love. You left her and her difficult pregnancy with Kuon-chan destroyed any possibility of her having other children. Kuon... We nearly lost her when she gave birth. She was in the ICU for nearly a month after that. I have tried to help her many times over, but have failed time and again. She has become unattainable and I can thank you for that."

* * *

In her body beats two hearts, one soft and pliant for a beautiful little boy and the other as cold and hard as the strongest of wrought irons forged in the fires of hell, locked tightly and welded shut. She is no longer the oblivious young naive sprite she once was. She has been alert, aware and as cold as ice to all that attempt to worm their way in. Soft and motherly to her son. Cold and as hard as ice to any man that desires her.

* * *

He sat in LA Hearts at a little table off to the side wondering exactly how on Earth he was going to repair all of the damage and try to win her back. _If at all possible._ He thought wryly. _I destroyed her._

Her heavenly scent assaulted his mind as she breezed by his table with toddler in arms and sat in a booth not far away. He watched as a familiar young man entered and humbly made his way to her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "What do you want Sho? I really don't have time for you." She told him tiredly. Ren was taken aback by her calm demeanor.

"Kyoko... Please." He heard him beg.

"Sho... We've been over this. I have no interest in you or, anything that has to do with you. All you're good for is a quick romp in the sack and you're not even good at that. If I thought for a moment it would boost my career, then perhaps but... it won't, so I'm not interested in becoming your trophy wife. For the final time... Get lost." She told him coldly and he left with his head hung low and fists clenched.

"This is your fault you bastard." Sho growled as he passed Ren's table on the way out.

Kanae Kotonami passed the beaten rocker as he left the small restaurant with a smug smile and a snicker. "Asshole..." She passed Ren, glanced down at him, flipped her hair and huffed. "Bastard." She walked to Kyoko and Kuon-chan's booth.

"Kanae... How was New York?" The little queen asked as she waved away the waiter to give them more time before ordering.

Kanae chuckled. "Same as it was last time you were there, Kyoko." She smiled. "How's my favorite little man?" She tickled the happy toddler as he ate his third sandwich and drank his juice. "Where does he get that appetite?" Kanae asked exasperatedly.

Ren caught her glance towards him. "I have no idea." She answered sarcastically and changed the subject.

"So, how long are you in town for?" Kanae asked.

"Hmm, we're leaving for Australia next week for two months, then London for another month after that, then we'll be back in Tokyo for two weeks and after that I have another job in Los Angeles for another three months." Kyoko pondered her busy schedule that Yashiro had happily filled for her to keep her busy.

 _How the hell am I supposed to fix things if I can't keep up with her?_ He glowered inwardly while sipping his coffee.

"Ugh... Mo! You spend more time with my husband than I do. Should I be worried?" Kanae joked.

Ren's eyes went wide at this new revelation.

Kyoko laughed. "Kanae... He's not going with me this time. Ruto volunteered, he's good with Kuon and I wouldn't dream of taking Yuki from you for that long." Kyoko reassured her.

Kanae nodded. "Good, because I don't think I would last long without him." She told her softly.

Kyoko took her hand and smiled softly. "Have you told him yet?"

Kanae smiled. "Tonight."

* * *

Ren stood in front of the door of his temporary manager's office, with apprehension coursing through his veins. Slowly he opened the door to find Yashiro sitting at his desk in a room filled with flower arrangements.

"Ah Ren, nice to see you again. How was your stay in America?" He asked cordially. Happy to finally see his old friend.

"Umm... Okay I guess." He answered sounding a little down.

The door behind him flew open and a raven-haired, golden-eyed goddess holding a toddler strolled in. "Yuki... I thought I told you to get rid of this garbage." She said coldly as she waved her hand at all of the flowers. "They're an eyesore."

"But Kyoko-chan they're..." Yuki started.

She sighed in frustration. "I know exactly who they're from. Hidehito, Shotaro, Hikaru, Hiromune and every other male in the industry that wants to get under my skirt... Get rid of them." She turned and walked out. "Email my schedule to Ruto." She called over her shoulder. "I'm going to my photo-shoot." She didn't want to stay in that room with Ren any longer than was necessary. The door slammed behind her.

"Okay..." He answered in a small voice and sighed.

"Yukihito... What happened that Lory isn't telling me? Her being like that is more than just a difficult pregnancy." Ren asked as he sat on the chair in front of the desk.

Yashiro shook his head and sighed. "She's been like that since her stay in the hospital when she was five months pregnant. It was really hard on her being alone. A lot of things happened. She was nearly successful that time." He whispered the last sentence. "After her career nearly tanked in the tabloids...Because of..." His voice tapered off.

"What do you mean?" He asked with worry.

"She covers them with makeup, Ren. Please don't ask anymore. I don't want her to hate me. I can't tell you any more than I have. If she knew that any of this has been discussed... We'd never see her again. Kanae would divorce me." Yashiro begged.

Ren nodded in understanding. "Alright..." He sighed. "How do I fix this Yukihito?" He asked with sincerity.

Yashiro looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm not really sure."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

Why was he here? He knew that she hated him or, was it just the cold indifference that was washing over him now? Whatever it was he was standing in front of her dressing room door at the studio where the final scenes for her movie were being shot.

He gently knocked on the ominous door decorated with a large gold star and the word Kyoko under it.

"Enter." A calm female voice granted entrance and he obliged.

She looked up at the tall disguised male in her doorway. "Oh... It's you." She said emotionlessly. "How can I help you _**Tsuruga-san**_?"

"Kyoko, I..." He started and she cut him off holding up her hand for him to stop.

"I would prefer Mogami-san, if you don't mind. I'm not comfortable with my name coming from your mouth at the moment." She informed him.

He swallowed. "Mogami-san, I wanted you to know how sorry I am."

She stood quietly and pulled her costume from her rack and started to undress. "I have to get ready if you don't mind." She told him. "If you're looking for forgiveness... I feel nothing. Go talk to your little tabloid whores in LA. Maybe you can find comfort with them to ease your conscience. As for me? I couldn't possibly care any less than I do at this very moment." She held tightly to her mask.

He stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Kyoko please listen to me."

She shot him a deadly glare as she shook off his hand and pulled on her blouse. "Look Hizuri-san, this is neither the time or, the place to discuss any of this. If you are doing this for your ego then leave. If for some fucked up reason you want to see your son before you run off to Kami knows where for three more years with no contact, then you can forget it. I won't allow my son to be abandoned like I was and left to think that he has no one. If you think for some strange reason that you wish to show me love and affection, you would only be wasting your time. I don't have the time or, the patience for it and I don't need any more scars." She told him as she sat at her makeup mirror and applied more cover-up to her neck and forearms.

"I am not leaving here without discussing this with you Kyoko." He was getting irritated from being rebuffed time and again. This was worse than she was with Fuwa. He was going to need a hell of a lot longer than the week he had been given for this.

She hung her head in thought. She looked at him through the mirror. "Fine. I'm willing to at least listen to your excuses."

"I'll wait for you." He told her as he stepped out of her dressing room and closed the door.

Deep inside of a lonely ice fortress, a heart encased in iron pulsed once and a small crack could be seen.

* * *

Lory looked up at Ruto then back at the planner that sat before him on his desk. He took a long drink of the gold liquid that tingled on its way down. "Is there any way we can give him more time?"

"I'm not certain Takarada-sama. I'll look over it again. Yashiro-san is very efficient when scheduling her." He answered looking over his own copy of Kyoko's itinerary.

"We need to find him more time. Somehow I think that he may be the only one that can clean up this mess. Kuon-chan deserves to know his father and Kyoko needs him, whether she wants to admit it or, not." Lory told him.

"Takarada-sama, after all she's been through... You aren't thinking of interfering, are you?" Ruto asked with worry.

Lory shook his head. "No... He's on his own this time. I'm only going to try and give him the time he needs. The rest is up to them."

* * *

"Cut!" The director called out. "Thank you Kyoko-san, wonderful job!" He beamed. "Perfect as usual."

"Thank you Sir. It's always a pleasure working with you. I'll see you in four months for the reading on the other one." She gave him her professional smile and bowed regally.

"Of course! I'm looking forward to it. Oh! I got you a little something to show my appreciation." He pulled out a small, long, black velvet box and gave it to her.

She opened it to find a diamond tennis bracelet and smiled. "Thank you sir."

He smiled. "Hurry along, your guest is waiting."

She nodded and left for her dressing room with Ren following her. "Was it really necessary for you to wait on me like a lost dog?" She bit out.

He bit his cheek. _I deserved that._ "No, but how else am I supposed to discuss things with you if I can't locate you?"

"Hmm... Didn't seem to bother you for the last three years. Don't see why it would now." She commented as she entered her dressing room and pulled out her phone.

He started to comment.

She held up her hand to stop him as she pressed her phone to her ear. "Ah... Maria. I'm finished. I'll be by to pick up Kuon in about 20 minutes... Yes... Mmhmm... Well, go ahead and let him have it. You know how much he can eat. It won't spoil his appetite... I know... Yes... I'll see you then. Bye." She stored her phone in her bag and grabbed her street clothes. She stripped and dressed as Ren sat on her sofa staring at the floor. "I have to pick up Kuon. We'll be having dinner at my place." She informed him as she started removing her makeup.

His eyes went wide as the makeup remover revealed a long scar across her throat and large zig-zag scars across her forearms. "Kyoko..." He stood and quickly stood behind her, staring at the glaring marks on her pristine skin. "Did you..."

"Don't be ridiculous!" She hissed. "Reino did this after he raped me." She laughed. "Sho and Kanae are the only two that know. Well, I guess you now too." She commented casually as though she were talking about the weather.

Ren's eyes turned dark and deadly.

"Oh... Give it up. Sho took care of him a long time ago." She brushed it off. "Made himself think he was owed something from me for it." She laughed. "Lucky for Reino that Kuon was okay or, he'd be dead instead of a eunuch. Yuki thinks I tried to commit suicide. So melodramatic." There was so much pain behind those golden orbs staring back at him through the mirror.

He spun her around and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

She stood stiffly. "Please... don't do that." She choked out. _It hurts..._ "I need to pick up my son." She quickly regained her composure as Ren fought the burning sensation behind his eyes.

He pulled away and nodded.

The crack grew larger and a soft glow was emitted.

* * *

At 5 pm a queen arrived at the LME playroom of Maria Takarada to retrieve her toddling fairy prince with a remorseful black knight at her back.

Maria looked up and noticed the tall man behind her Onee-sama and scowled. "Onee-sama... Um, I made sure he only ate from the bento you left for him, but I think he's still hungry. He's been really good today." She tickled the toddler as he giggled and ran to his mother.

"Thank you Maria." She smiled softly and startled Ren with her change. She kissed the little imp and held him tightly. "Of course you're still hungry."

"Fishes Mama, Fishes!" He squealed and squirmed in her arms, then planted a cute baby kiss on her cheek.

She giggled and kissed him back. "Yes Sweetie, Mama will cook fish for you tonight." She cooed as Ren's heart melted while watching her.

"Do you need me tomorrow Onee-sama?" Maria asked sweetly hoping to watch her favorite person tomorrow.

"No... I have the day off. Kuon and I still have packing for Australia to do." She informed her as they turned to head out of Maria's office.

Maria smiled. "Alright... I'll see you later." She waved to Kyoko as she breezed past Ren and left to meet her grandfather.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

He sat quietly on her sofa watching their son play with his toys in her penthouse apartment as she cooked dinner, brooding about all his inattention had done to her and her life. He wondered how it would have been if he had just conquered his irrational fears and picked up the phone just once and spoke to her. If he had just called to let her know that all of the news she was seeing were lies. If he had just called and told her how much he missed her and how sorry he was for leaving and begged her to let him back into her life, like he was planning on doing right now.

He watched as the little queen swooped into the living room and picked up his tiny doppelganger and carried him to his highchair. "Dinner's ready." She told him as she placed a large, full plate before their son, more than he could possibly eat himself.

Ren smiled proudly at his son. "He's got quite an appetite." He commented.

"Mmhmm, he certainly does." She answered as she nibbled on her dinner. "I wonder where he gets that..."

"Kyoko... I... Have you told them?" He asked quietly.

She glanced at him and sat primly with a napkin in her lap. "No... I have not and I prefer to discuss this later."

He nodded. "Okay." He sighed. _Her cooking is still the best I've ever had._

* * *

After Kuon ate his second helping, was bathed and tucked-in for the night, his mother made her way to her bar and made herself a vodka martini. She held up a bottle of scotch and waved it toward Ren. "Thirsty?"

He nodded. He could really use a shot of liquid courage for what they were about to discuss. "Do you have any ice?" He asked as she pulled out a whisky glass and began pouring.

She nodded and pulled out three ice cubes and plopped them in the glass, then held it up for him to come and get it.

He sat down at her small bar as she sat with a seat between them with her legs crossed, sipped her strong drink and sighed in contentment.

She glanced at him in silent thought. _This was such a bad idea..._

"Kyoko..." He started. "I never meant for things to happen this way. I'm sorry."

She chuckled wryly. "Kuon... Are you even aware of half of the things that happened while you were gone?"

He stared into his glass. "I've been told some things, but I want to hear it from you. I want to hear the truth from you. Not from other people."

"Ah... The old straight from the horse's mouth... Right?" She gave him a smile that reminded him of her Natsu. "Well then... Here we go. Once upon a time there was a stupid girl that thought that she was good enough to be loved by the most eligible bachelor in Japan."

He winced.

"And for a few months he convinced her. She even gave him her most precious treasure, even though he had initially advised her against it. Because of her stupid mistake she was knocked up." She laughed. "Go figure. Well, said bachelor decided that she wasn't enough for him and he decided to leave her side before she discovered the little gift he left for her. He turned off his phone, he didn't write or, even have the courtesy to send her an email saying, see ya never. During the first few months he was gone, she was bombarded by stories all around her about his love life while she was left puking her guts out and being stalked by a sadistic bastard that decided to claim to all of Japan that she was carrying his child and when she hit the fifth month of her pregnancy he abducted her, raped her, cut her to bits and left her for dead thinking that she would never tell anyone what had happened. After all who would believe a single pregnant woman that tried to kill herself?" She took another sip of her drink.

"Kyoko... I..." He started only to have her stop him.

"Not finished... _Anyway_... As the rest of the world believed the rapist, she had only two people in her life that knew that she wouldn't do such a thing and they hunted him down. One toad and one ice queen. The toad and the ice queen captured him beat him into submission and brought the girl to where they had kept him." She laughed. "Hold on... This is where it starts to get good. The girl borrowed her adoptive father's favorite knife, with his permission of course, and cut off all of his juicy bits, then neatly stored them for him in a wonderful little glass jar so he could proudly display them. After that the toad believed that the girl owed him something and for several months after her little prince was born and she no longer had the capability of reproducing, he hounded her constantly until she decided to placate him. It's not like she was going to get pregnant and what would the bachelor care anyway? So... She fucked him a couple of times, decided it was her least favorite thing to do and tossed his ass to the side. After that the King of the Land decided that she needed real love in her life and ordered her to at least give that wonderful feeling of love a chance again, because having your heart ripped out and cut to shreds once isn't enough. One day the bachelor decides that he can just walk back into her life like nothing ever happened and pick up where he left off. So... There you have it. Any questions? Comments?" She finished and took another sip off her drink then sucked an olive into her mouth. _There it's out! Happy now?!_ She really felt like dying inside again. All of the pain and horrible feelings were flooding back all over again and although her mask was firmly in place, the armor around her heart was crumbling.

"I was ashamed of myself... I was ashamed and scared... I'm sorry Kyoko, I was a coward." He whispered. "When I finally called... Your number had been disconnected and everyone I asked wouldn't tell me anything. They told me you were doing okay. I should have demanded to speak to you. I should have run to you. Kyoko... Please forgive me. I never meant to hurt you." He slid off the chair to his knees and fell into a dogeza. "Please Kyoko..."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to wait to give birth before I found out?!" She tried to keep from raising her voice so as not to wake her sleeping prince.

He looked up at her from the floor. "I didn't want you to know what a monster I am. I ruined your childhood and my best friend was killed because of me." His voice was shaky and his eyes were moist.

She felt horrible. Her head now hurt, her stomach was turning and her chest felt like it was in a vice. She downed the rest of her strong drink in two swallows, sat the glass on the bar, stood up and began pacing. She raked her fingers through her hair and rubbed her temples. "I can't do this anymore..." She choked out. She felt a tear streak down her cheek. "I can't... I don't know what to do..." She turned to the man on her floor and stopped. "What do you want me to do with this Kuon? What do you want me to say?" The tears were now flowing without her notice.

He stood, walked to her, wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. "I don't want you to say anything Kyoko... I... I just want you to give me a chance to make it up to you. To fix all the damage I've done. Let me spend the rest of my life giving you what you deserve. I'm not asking you to return the feeling. I just want you to allow me to love you... Please."

She grabbed the bottom of his shirt in her fists and finally let out almost three years of pain and tears. They both fell to their knees in each other's arms mourning the time that had been lost.

"Will you let me try?" He whispered into her hair.

She nodded silently. "I'm leaving next week." She whispered hoarsely.

"I know." He told her as he stroked her hair while she sat curled in his lap against him. "I'll go with you."

She looked up at him a little shocked. "What about work?"

"Kyoko... I came here for you. Even if you had told me to get lost like you did Fuwa... I would have followed you to the ends of the Earth until you wore down. I'm not leaving you ever again." He told her.

"But..." She tried to comprehend what he was telling her.

"No... I'm not letting go. I can't. I can't do it again. I'm selfish Kyoko. These past three years have been hell. I can't live without you by my side." He whispered as he kissed her temple.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

The airport was filled with her loving fans that were seeing her off and she was surrounded by her friends. It was the most relaxed and fulfilled she had felt in years. Maybe giving him another chance wasn't such a bad idea after all.

" _Mo... You hurt her again and I'll do to you what I did to the VK piss-ant. Got it Hizuri?"_ Kanae whispered to him as she handed Kuon-chan to his father.

Kuon swallowed hard, nodded and smiled nervously. "I understand Yashiro-san."

She pulled away and smiled brightly. "Good... I'm glad we understand each other. Have a nice trip." She told him sweetly as she hugged Kyoko and gave Kuon-chan one last little kiss.

"Kuon... Are you okay? You look a little pale." Kyoko asked with concern. "You aren't getting sick are you?"

He shook his head and chuckled, then kissed her cheek. "No Sweetheart. I'm fine." He told her as they boarded their plane.

They took their seats and situated Kuon between them and prepared for take off. Kuon pulled a script from his bag and opened it.

She glanced over at him after she gave Kuon his favorite stuffed animal and a small snack. She furrowed her brow. "I thought you said you didn't have any acting jobs."

He smiled mischievously. "I don't..." He showed her the cover of the script and her eyes went wide. "It's just a little project I'm working on."

 _ **Heart Of Iron**_

 _ **By: Kuon Hizuri**_

 _ **Director: Kuon Hizuri**_

"Are you up for it?" He smiled.

"But why?" She asked confused.

"I get to spend more time with my family this way. I do what I want and work when I want. Nothing's going to keep me away from you anymore." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Is that okay?"

She smiled, closed her eyes and shook her head. "I love you."

"I love you too my Queen."

* * *

 _ **~fin~**_

 _ **A/N: Yes, I know. I made Reino an evil villain in this one. He is just the perfect catch-all character though. Not to worry, for all his admirers that may have read this particular story, I have one on the back burner just for him. Lol. Thank you for reading this particularly short one. It was an idea I had to get out of my system. 8)**_


End file.
